Muristek
HEBRON, June 2 — Israeli soldiers shot dead a knife-wielding Palestinian woman on Wednesday, the army said — an account that was disputed by Palestinian officials — and a Palestinian man was killed during an Israeli incursion in the occupied West Bank.
Violence in territories where Palestinians seek statehood has simmered since US-sponsored peace talks stalled in 2014. It has flared again in recent weeks with fatal Palestinian attacks inside Israel and deadly Israeli raids.
Clashes between Palestinians and Israeli soldiers broke out after dark when the military entered the village of Yabad to demolish the house of a Palestinian gunman who had shot dead five people in an Israeli city on March 30.
Medics and residents said villagers threw stones at the soldiers who opened fire at them.
The Palestinian Health Ministry said one man was killed and two others critically wounded. It was not immediately clear whether they had all taken part in the confrontation.
The Israeli military did not immediately comment but confirmed its soldiers were there to destroy the gunman’s house.
In a separate incident, the Israeli army said “an assailant armed with a knife advanced toward an IDF (Israel Defence Forces) soldier who was conducting routine security activity” near Al Aroub village.
“The soldiers responded with live fire,” it said.
A hospital in the nearby Palestinian city of Hebron confirmed the woman’s death.
The Palestinian foreign ministry condemned the killing as a “field execution”.
“She was en route to her work and there were no incidents there or danger to the criminals,” the ministry said in a statement. — Reuters